(Newser)
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Human rights groups urging travelers to avoid mainland China because of the suppression of dissidents have now issued special alerts for certain areas. The Hong Kong-based groups issued the highest level of alert for Beijing and Shanghai, warning that the cities have seen the largest number of repressive incidents since a crackdown on dissent began earlier this year, reports the South China Morning Post.

Guangdong and Sichuan provinces also rated the highest level of alert. Travelers were urged to avoid non-essential travel to six other provinces and exercise caution in the rest of China. "Suppression of freedom of expression has increased drastically since February, so we are calling on people to avoid going to the mainland—you don't know when your words will bring trouble," said the chair of Hong Kong's Journalists Association. "You might disappear, be detained, or arrested. At least 62 people have been suppressed in these ways since February 19"—the date when activists declared that China's "Jasmine Revolution" had begun.

The Chinese Gov. lives and rules in abject fear of is own people ,... they are much closer to civil upheaval than we know ,.... a single spark could change the game ,..... scarcity in food and water would more likely be the spark , but a murder of a prominent or loved Artist or dissident , could set the wheels in motion as well

Martin1975

Apr 21, 2011 11:06 PM CDT

I have been living in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, for the last 8 months and I still feel perfectly safe. Articles like this make it sound like China is some kindly of strictly controlled police state, with KGB-ish, Stasi-ish, gestapo-ish secret police all around, but everyday life is 100 percent NOT like that. The only thing you can't do in China, is try to take over the state, i.e. stuff that can or is aimed ad, in the official words, "endangering harmony" in society. In other words: cause social unrest. That's what the government here is very nervous about, especially if this political 'attacks' come from outside China (like Falun Gong - started as religious movement, but got political aspirations when they demanded more democracy and became foreign when they moved to the U.S.). But hey, you wouldn't want other people to tell you how to run your life either would you? China has freedom of religion, but state laws are difined by law as being more important than religious laws. So you can practice your religion - even in public to a certain extent - as long as you don't break any laws. This means, for example, that you can't have a sharia to the points where it conflicts with national laws, you can't have a Pope to be the highest authority over his followers (second highest at best), and you are not allowed to actively convert people to your religion. However, these are just official laws. Looking at everyday society, you will see that people find their ways to go around rules and regulations all the time. Underground churches, both Protestant and Catholic, have been existing in China for decades and both western religions are growing very fast at the moment. Apart from human rights issues, there is so much else to do, and you can do all that stuff freely in China. No secret policeman will ever bother you. And even when it does come to more sensitive issues, a lot is possible. More than once I discussed democracy and human rights issues with Chinese people in public places. And I'm still here, and feeling perfectly unthreatened and free.